As a member of a band that is preparing to go on tour, you are truly living the dream. Your goal is to go to as many US states or European nations as you can in 100 days.
On Tour is a 20-minute roll-and-write, route-building board game that may be played by one to eight players (or by as many people as have maps!). It features large, high-quality components. Dice determine which numbers you write each turn, while cards limit the locations you can go. Players use the same card flips and dice rolls to write concurrently on their own maps. The success of your band will depend on how you handle the same inputs that everyone receives.
Bonus point opportunities and a changeable preparation process guarantee that each journey encounters fresh difficulties!
The box does not list the contents, however the picture appears to indicate:
- Eight markers with a dry eraser
- Eight diagrams
- Two enormous eight-sided dice
- Guidelines
- Flippers of cards?
Tour Planning Is Not That Simple
Players compete in On Tour to tour their band to as many states as they can. In order to reserve it for that date on your 100-day tour, you will be writing a number in each state.
Every turn, cards limit where you can write and dice decide which numbers you write. Players use the same card flips and dice rolls to write concurrently on their own maps. While all individuals receive the same inputs, your success will depend on how you choose to respond to them.
To add variation to each game, there are wilds, additional point opportunities, and a varied setup phase.
All major bands, take note!
You can play with any number of people when on tour, which is one of our favorite things about it (well, it’s our favorite thing; you may choose another one, too!).
- Mano a mano with your partner.
- To kill time when you’re at home sick with mono by yourself.
- “Did anybody bring a game that plays six?” is said by someone during a game night gathering of six individuals.
- Just make sure that each person has their own map.
- There are 8 maps and 8 dry erase markers included with the game. Just buy a second game and picture these scenarios if you want more maps!
- Over Thanksgiving dinner, with all thirty-five of your dad’s strange relatives.
- Perhaps you might try to gather a few thousand individuals and establish a world record.
- To make your game sparkle and glitter like a diamond, upgrade the Rockstar Dice promo to the On Tour table!
Hope Wins Out
There is always hope, though. At the conclusion of the game, a star is placed down that can represent any number if all three cards display the same area. Likewise, should a double be rolled. Furthermore, paths don’t have to proceed in a straight line; they can pass through several states at the same value (e.g., -27-32-32-star-32-37-). This results in an unexpectedly high number of situations where players can rearrange their tour and still generate a result that is relatively competitive.
Anxiety About What’s to Come
When every state has a number filled in, the game is over. No cards are dealt and the rolled combinations must be placed into the states that are open when there are only two or fewer states remaining. It’s interesting to note that players only sketch their route after the conclusion of the game, not while it’s underway. Therefore, even though they may have intended to follow a particular route, the stars and a few accidental number placements may provide them with an alternative path that allows them to make at least some points.
Completing the score at the end is simple, but it’s frequently met with a worried glance from the player looking up at the other players, asking how many points they’ve earned and, against all chances, hoping that some misfortune has struck them somewhat more than you. My games typically had winning scores in the mid-20s to low-30s.
Solace in Mutual Pain
Nobody ever succeeds in carrying out that ideal first concept in the end. Being On Tour is all about spreading the joy that suffering likes company, keeping alternatives open, and stretching without going overboard. “Oh not, not the North” and “why, oh why is there NOTHING in the seventies?” are common phrases heard during plays. However, a single game ends in around 20 to 30 minutes, thus it creates a “let’s try that again” feeling. However, it is significant enough to make bad decisions seem like they have repercussions.
In summary
Why, therefore, does On Tour suit my needs while other roll-and-writes don’t? That is the intense emotional rollercoaster. Turns happen quickly because there isn’t much area for AP, the artwork is inviting, the rules are really simple to understand, and I don’t have to explain a lot of symbology. It exudes the idea that “anyone can do that.”
Above all, the difficulty is understandable. In other words, many roll-and-write games fall into the multiplayer-solitaire category. It can be challenging to determine at the end of the game which player made a mistake and which one executed a cunning zig when others zagged. Consider Railroad Inc., which is one of the better roll-and-write companies in my opinion. Usually, I don’t even check to see what other players have done on their map in the conclusion.